COS invests $1 million in solar

Australian office products supplier COS has invested $1 million in installing over 1500 solar panels at its facilities as a step towards its goal of achieving zero carbon emissions. The solar energy farms at its Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane locations will produce 80% of power usage at each site, with the panels at its Sydney facility alone covering over 6060 m².

The company’s decision to invest in solar energy was a result of a carbon audit which identified electricity to be contributing almost 50% to its carbon emissions. With the three new solar sites set to produce in excess of 611 MWh per annum, COS’s carbon emissions will be reduced by 532 tonnes per year — equivalent to removing 133 cars off the road and growing 3191 mature trees.

COS worked with solar energy equipment supplier Sun Connect to install the solar panels at each site, in what was described by Sun Connect CEO Mark Tuke as “one of the largest commercial solar panel installations undertaken by Sun Connect”. The COS website will also feature live data showing the amount of energy generated from its solar energy farms.

“The solar energy farms actually produce more energy than we need, with 25% being fed back into the electricity grid,” noted COS Managing Director Dominique Lyone.

Other sustainable practices undertaken by COS as part of its commitment to sustainability include:

• sustainable warehouse initiatives including re-using cartons, utilising cartons made from recycled materials, recycling plastic wrap from packaging and replacing the use of cardboard boxes with re-usable plastic tubs for a number of large clients;
• clever environmental practices in COS offices including sensor lighting to conserve power, robust waste management policies, priority given to videoconferencing to reduce travel, energy-saving design to maximise the use of natural light and airflow to minimise energy use;
• optional product redirection to encourage the purchase of eco-conscious product alternatives by clients during the product selection process.

“COS has a very robust corporate social responsibility policy, and at the heart of this is the goal that ultimately our day-to-day operations will produce zero impact on the environment,” said Lyone.

“The next phase of this project will involve further investigation into battery storage solutions to move us closer to our goal of a zero-emissions future.”